I arrived in Malawi this morning at about 2:00 am. The flights were long but I chatted with some pleasant people. Luckily for me my friend Linda sat with me on the way to Amsterdam. That was a great treat. I had arranged for my friend Simon to pick my up with his friend Tony who is a taxi driver.

I may have told them to come at 2:30 or 3:00 because of collecting my bags and going through customs. I was ready to go by 2:05 but unfortunately there was no Simon. A taxi driver approached me and asked if I needed a ride. I told him “No, my friend is coming.” He hung around close by me and a group of other mzungus. At about 2:40 I panicked. Maybe Simon had misunderstood and thought I was arriving in the afternoon. Maybe he got confused about the day. I had no SIM card and no Malawi kwacha. What was I to do? I asked that taxi driver and his friends if I could use one of their phones.

They said in a slow voice, “Yes, we have phones, but you must understand we are low on credits.” I walked away, angry and afriad. Tears came to my eyes and I didn’t know what to do. My anger was going to prevent me from letting this taxi driver take me home if it came to that. Finally, one of them felt bad for me and gave me his phone to use. I called Simon. He said he was coming. I was afraid I’d woken him. Finally at about 3:30 he came. He said they’d had a flat. I was never so happy to see anyone in my life.

When I arrived Sue was here to greet me. Sue is most likely the person who understands me most even though we don’t know each other well. He seems to understand me and to put things in perspective for me. I was very happy to see him. I kept touching him to make sure it was real.

Today I slept most of the day. I ate a few good meals, drank a glass of wine and had a bath. How decadent. I love it here but obviously couldn’t stay here all summer. The first time we were here in 2007 we got a bit bored during the evenings. It is a nice, relaxing spot and when your friends are here with you it is heaven.

The weather here today, from what I saw, was very nice. It was sunny and warm but not hot.

Tomorrow I move to my new home at Chipasula Secondary School. The lluxury will be gone.

I’ll write when I can. Thanks.

Jennifer

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